{"id":3126,"date":"2026-01-19T13:40:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T13:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cncurc.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/19\/best-of-sustainability-in-your-ear-kelly-ramsey-on-life-as-a-hotshot-firefighter-and-the-burning-reality-of-americas-wildfire-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T13:40:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T13:40:32","slug":"best-of-sustainability-in-your-ear-kelly-ramsey-on-life-as-a-hotshot-firefighter-and-the-burning-reality-of-americas-wildfire-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cncurc.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/19\/best-of-sustainability-in-your-ear-kelly-ramsey-on-life-as-a-hotshot-firefighter-and-the-burning-reality-of-americas-wildfire-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: Kelly Ramsey on Life as a Hotshot Firefighter and the Burning Reality of America\u2019s Wildfire Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=66836829&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=left&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-download=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What does it take to stand on the front lines of one of the most dangerous and increasingly common realities of our climate crisis era? Discover the intense world of elite wildland firefighting with <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kellylynnramsey.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kelly Ramsey<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, the first woman in about a decade to join the Rowdy River Hotshots, a pseudonymously named, California-based crew of highly trained wildland firefighters. In this episode of Earth911&#8217;s <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sustainability In Your Ear<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, Kelly shares insights from her powerful new memoir, <\/span><em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4nqQCUZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wildfire Days: A Woman, a Hotshot Crew, and the Burning American West<\/span><\/a><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, which chronicles her transformative two years fighting fires and discovering herself in the process. Her journey into the masculine world of hotshot crews offers a unique perspective on who becomes one of these ultimate first responders, exploring not just the Marine-type training and intense physicality required, but also the personal transformation that comes from confronting both literal and metaphorical fires.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_365474\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-365474\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-365474 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"462\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/earth911.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Kelly-Ramsey.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/earthnew.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Kelly-Ramsey.jpg 400w, https:\/\/earthnew.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Kelly-Ramsey-300x347.jpg 300w\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-365474\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><center>Kelly Ramsey, author of <i>Wildfire Days: A Woman, A Hotshot Crew, and the Burning American West<\/i>, is our guest on <i>Sustainability In Your Ear<\/i>.<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">As we head into 2025, the conversation takes on urgent relevance, with budget cuts reducing the number of available firefighters despite wildfires growing more severe by the decade. 1,600 firefighters have been laid off this year, despite a growing need. Kelly explains the concept of Preparedness Level 5, when there are no crews left at the time fire danger peaks, and warns that understaffing could leave the nation operating at this dangerous level for much of the upcoming fire season. She also addresses the psychological and physical toll of this extreme profession, the sobering reality of firefighter mortality. She also offers practical advice for those living in wildfire-prone areas on home hardening and evacuation preparedness. Tune in to hear Kelly&#8217;s powerful story of transformation, resilience, and the urgent need to support our <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">wildfire fighting<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> forces. Learn more about Kelly and <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wildfire Days<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> at <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kellylynnramsey.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">kellylynnramsey.com<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Subscribe to <em>Sustainability In Your Ear<\/em> on <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/earth911-com-sustainability-in-your-ear\/id1384301001?mt=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">iTunes<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Follow <em>Sustainability In Your Ear<\/em> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/user\/earth911\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spreaker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/966-Earth911com-Sustain-29715785\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">iHeartRadio<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCOEAu3yE_OGPAQR9o8o9XeA\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">YouTube<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Editor&#8217;s Note:<\/strong> This episode originally aired on July 7, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/earth911.com\/podcast\/earth911-podcast-kelly-ramsey-on-life-as-a-hotshot-firefighter-and-the-burning-reality-of-americas-wildfire-crisis\/\">Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: Kelly Ramsey on Life as a Hotshot Firefighter and the Burning Reality of America&#8217;s Wildfire Crisis<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/earth911.com\">Earth911<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What does it take to stand on the front lines of one of the most&#8230;<br \/>\nThe post Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: Kelly Ramsey on Life as a Hotshot Firefighter and the Burning Reality of America&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}